And when the objectives were known and the hearts were prepared to accept the benefits, and it was commanded to warn with understanding, and there were among the people those who would not return except with great force, He addressed everyone, speaking to them with the least of the hearts' conditions, so that they may turn to the lesser and reach the higher from the more important aspect. He said: ﴿O you who have believed﴾ meaning: those who claimed with their tongues to have faith, ﴿fight﴾ meaning: as a confirmation of your claims, ﴿those who are nearest to you among the disbelievers﴾. So, those who are nearest to them, if you do not see anyone else, are more suitable for a meaning that pertains to the goodness of the arrangement and the requirements of wisdom. This is because jihad is known and is a good deed, and the nearest ones are more deserving of good deeds. And to keep the enemy away from your lands, so that their righteousness may increase and your corruption may decrease, and you would have gathered through understanding and fighting between the two types of jihad: the jihad of argument and the jihad of the sword, while being cautious with this arrangement so that there remains no one behind you when you fight those whose deceit you fear.

And when reconciliation is more deserving of peace, and confrontation is more deserving of hostility, He said: ﴿And let them find﴾ from finding ﴿in you harshness﴾ meaning: severity and zeal; because that is more awe-inspiring in their hearts.

And He refrained from their immorality, and the essence of the mistake in bodies is borrowed here for the severity in war, which combines courage and patience in fighting and intense enmity. So, if they do that, they would be combining between the jihad of argument and the sword, as it is said:

'Whoever is not corrected by the Qur'an, he will have correction from the smallness and the white of India.'

Abu Hayyan pointed this out.

And when the estimation is: let all of that be with piety, not because of wealth or status, for it is the key to all matters, He alerted to this by saying: ﴿And know that Allah﴾ meaning: He who has all perfection ﴿is with the righteous﴾. So do not fear that anything from companionship with it may lead to weakness; for the lesson is in who Allah is with.